Why wasps are so vicious?

[CliveyT]

I think I'll stick with my earlier 'wasps are not terribly important pollinators' comment. I am a former beekeeper and even so I think the role of bees in pollination is somewhat overstated. In years when there have been few bees, other insects have stepped up. I think that if you see a late crop of (say raspberries) being pollinated by wasps as claimed in that link, it may well just mean that other insects won't go near it..... because it is covered in wasps.

cheers

As I current beekeeper I think at this time of year wasps are the spawn of the devil. If you think your picnic is tempting to them then just imagine what a hive full of honey is like. Every time I check the bees at the moment there are wasps desperately trying to get in and my girls are equally doing there best to keep them out. As a result the bees are getting very aggressive and I'm having to make sure I'm fully covered before venturing forth . Most of the year I don't worry about them at all.
Nothing against wasps earlier in the year- they do a great job collecting other insects to feed to the colony but now they've done their bit, the queens have grown up and flown off and they have no purpose in life any more. They're going to die soon, I just wish they did it a bit sooner.

[Mick F]

..... the queens have grown up and flown off and they have no purpose in life any more. They're going to die soon, I just wish they did it a bit sooner.

Our wasps ...... or whatever they are ............ are still busy busy busy. In and out of their hole near the bedroom window. They keep themselves to themselves and aren't a problem.
Smaller than a wasp, but look like a wasp, though not behave like a wasp.
Dunno what they are.
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=123330

[crazydave789]

..... the queens have grown up and flown off and they have no purpose in life any more. They're going to die soon, I just wish they did it a bit sooner.

Our wasps ...... or whatever they are ............ are still busy busy busy. In and out of their hole near the bedroom window. They keep themselves to themselves and aren't a problem.
Smaller than a wasp, but look like a wasp, though not behave like a wasp.
Dunno what they are.
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=123330

agoraphobic wasps maybe

[Brucey]

wasp larvae are fed dead insects by adult wasps and in return the larvae regurgitate a sugary liquid, which the adult wasps use as a food source. This means that adult wasps are not really interested in sugary stuff except when there are no larvae in the colony. This happens for two periods in the year;

1) in the spring when the queen is building the colony and until the first generation of adults appears. During this time wasps will seek out nectar. However they are at this time also very few in number so the net contribution to pollination of crops is not great.

2) when there are no new larvae in the colony because the queen has stopped laying. This occurs in late summer or early autumn, hence seeing wasps on late raspberry blossoms. The exact timing varies from year to year but I guess it is going to be about now, this year. The wasps have some way of synchronising the production of drones and queens so that they all appear from multiple colonies at about the same time, so that mating is most efficent.

Workers survive for about twenty days in the middle of summer but can last longer at other times of year. This means that in the autumn you are likely to get half-crazy, sugar-starved/drunk wasps lurking about for around a month or so.

cheers

[kwackers]

And in classic fashion, no sooner have I posted that I've only ever been stung by a wasp once (30 odd years ago) then I get stung today!

In its (and my) defence, I was out for my dinner time jog when a wasp entered my cake-hole at a fair rate of knots, destroyed itself on my teeth and filled my somewhat dry mouth with wasp debris.
As I coughed and choked and tried to spit the bits out the stingy bit somehow managed to sting the inside of my lip!

A couple of hours later I look like one of those people for whom lip surgery went horribly wrong along with the whole of the left jowl down to my neck nicely swollen.

Quite funny really, I certainly looked quite comical much to the amusement and incredulity of my fellow work peeps.
Nice burning sensation for a few hours but I still think that horseflies have the edge when it comes to initial pain.